The United States and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on a multinational network based in Southeast Asia, accused of running large-scale online scam operations. The US Treasury Department described the action as the largest ever in the region, targeting 146 individuals linked to the Prince Group.
Among those sanctioned is the group's head, Chen Zhi, a Chinese-born Cambodian tycoon alleged to be the mastermind of a cyber-crime empire. The UK also sanctioned the Prince Group, which is suspected of using trafficked workers to defraud people globally through romance scams and other online fraud.
The industry has flourished in recent years, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, where hundreds of thousands of people have been lured by false job adverts and forced to commit fraud under threat of torture. The sanctions target Chen Zhi and over a dozen individuals connected to his business operations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
